Living Planet

We talk to renowned Indian author Amitav Ghosh about the origins of the climate crisis, the story of one very important spice, and why he prefers the term "planetary crisis" to the climate crisis.

This week we're sharing an episode of Drilled, a true-crime climate podcast we love that describes itself as Law & Order meets the climate crisis. This is episode one from their new season that follows the story of a Guyanese reporter as she tries to find out what kind of deal was struck between ExxonMobil and the Guyanese government after they discovered oil reserves off the country's coast.

We hear from people in Puchuncaví, Chile, who want to reclaim their region from industrial exploitation. And we talk to author and expert Saleem Ali about how to reduce the harm of mining and refining the minerals critical to harnessing renewable energy and powering electric vehicles.

Climate journalist Stella Levantesi, climate communication researcher John Cook and Wikimedia strategist Alex Stinson join Sam Baker for an engaging round-table discussion on how factually inaccurate and misleading information about the environment travels around the web - and what to do about it. This episode was originally broadcast in April 2022.

We hear why Kenyan farmers are rejecting genetically modified seeds, meet the biodiversity guardians protecting peace in the rainforest region of Caquetá, Colombia, and find out how Ghana's coastline is at severe risk of being swallowed by the sea.

This week we're sharing an episode from Heat of the Moment, a podcast from Foreign Policy in partnership with the Climate Investment Funds. In Season 3, they explore the idea of a "just transition" away from fossil fuels — not only what that means for the coal miners whose jobs are going away, but also how the opportunity can be used to address wrongdoings such as racism, sexism and colonialism.

On Living Planet this week, too many deer in the Scottish Highlands are leading to community disputes over how to deal with them. As India works to clean up its air, scientists have realized there may be a surprising trade-off: even higher temperatures. And we venture into the heart of the humanitarian disaster that is cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo with author Siddharth Kara.

This week on Living Planet, we hear how refugees in Cameroon are creating shade and fresher air, as they connect their tree-planting project to the Great Green Wall of Africa. We also unpack Uganda's electronic waste problem, which has been made worse by a flood of cheap, counterfeit mobile phones on the market. And we learn about the promise and drawbacks of compostable packaging.

We head to the Hawaiian Islands to hear how climate change and the touristic obsession with a dreamy island getaway is steadily eroding the archipelago, driving local people, flora and fauna to extinction. And we learn from South African scientists and teachers trying to protect 200 species of shark off the country's coast.

Are two of the world's most beloved beverages – coffee and wine – viable in a world warped by climate change? And how's the world going with the whole 'sustainable aviation' thing?